A little over a week ago, we were treated to a possible World Series preview when the Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees.
The star power on the field for that three-game series was remarkable.
Despite facing a hostile Bomber crowd, the Dodgers impressively took two out of three and nearly swept the series.
The Yankees made headlines with their decision to sell Shohei Ohtani merchandise at the stadium.
While this practice is pretty common in Major League Baseball, there was a fair amount of criticism from fans who thought the Yankees should be above such a thing.
Ohtani is arguably the biggest star in all of baseball.
Fresh off signing a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million (!!!) deal with the Dodgers, Ohtani’s start to the season got off on a bumpy note when he was dragged into a gambling scandal that rocked the sports world.
MLB has since cleared him of any wrongdoing and labeled him an innocent victim in the matter.
Nearly at Ohtani’s level of stardom is Yankee slugger Aaron Judge.
There’s nothing not to like about Judge who, much like Derek Jeter, has never made a misstep in his pinstripe career.
Interestingly, Judge admitted that Ohtani is “the best player” in all of baseball.
Judge’s admission caught some fans off-guard.
He would never toot his own horn. After all, Judge is one of the most-humble players in all of sports. However, him feeling the need to state that Ohtani is the best in baseball is certainly interesting.
Both are having excellent seasons.
Judge is batting .299 with 26 home runs and 64 RBI’s to go along with a 1.110 OPS (the latter three all lead the league).
Meanwhile, Ohtani is batting .314 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI’s to go along with a .988 OPS.
Individually, Judge and Ohtani are remarkably well-matched.
Ohtani holds two MVP awards compared to Judge’s one, while Judge boasts five All-Star selections and three Silver Slugger Awards against Ohtani’s three and two, respectively.
Both players are strong contenders for the 2024 MVP award, and it would come as no surprise if they were the two MVPs this year.
More importantly, the two teams may very well be on a collision course.
Sure, the Philadelphia Phillies may have something to say about it, but it won’t come as too big of a surprise if we have a Yankees-Dodgers World Series on our hands come October.
Currently, the Bombers hold the best record in all of baseball at 50-24. Their run-differential is an impressive +124.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers currently sit in first place in the National League West with a 45-29 record. (+105 run differential.)
Notably, reigning American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole will be making his much-anticipated return to the mound tomorrow when the Yankees take on the Baltimore Orioles.
Across the coast, longtime Dodgers ace, Clayton Kershaw, is expected to make a return to the hill at some point this season.
What are your thoughts on Judge’s comments?
Do you agree with him that Ohtani is the best player in all of baseball?
What would your personal top five ranking look like?
As for the two teams, do you think we will indeed have a Yankees-Dodgers World Series on our hands come October???